The New Forge, Chagford: Cafe Review

Chagford, a lovely village on the edge of Dartmoor and home not only to the very upmarket Gidleigh Park Hotel and Restaurant, but to the best hardware shop most people have ever visited, Webber & Sons.  I have previously reviewed Gidleigh Park here, but one day I shall devote a whole month of blog posts to Webber & Sons - there is SO MUCH STUFF in that shop.  Ask the owners for just about anything.  They've got it.  Last time we were there we needed:

1. A new oven lightbulb

2. A cheese board

3. A copy of the Guardian

4. Some socks

5. Some indoor fireworks

Yep.  They had the lot. No problemo.

Once you've spent an hour and a half in Webber & Sons, I can wholeheartedly recommend this Devon cafe, just across The Square is The New Forge.  I love places that serve the kind of food I like to eat, but slightly better than I can (be bothered to) cook it at home.  

Bright, pink walls, huge windows, relaxed atmosphere, friendly service.   

 There are changing daily specials on a blackboard, excellent cappuccinos, a most enormous and lardy and delicious Welsh Rarebit.  On this day, I had the delicious monkfish fishcakes that were enormous and served with South Devon Chilli Farm jam and a good salad.  My folks in the background had a rather rustic chicken and bacon stew that was really tasty and peasanty (in a good way) - and such a generous portion, I don't think they could finish it.

 Another time I have had their Roast Beetroot and Butternut Squash Lasagne which was delicious, fresh and again, very filling.  This is somewhere I'd gladly re-visit as they have some great regular dishes e.g. the lasagne and rarebit, plus interesting Specials, great coffee and cakes that I have never had room for!  Booking advisable - sometimes they are very busy and we have been turned away.  Closed Mon and Tues. Open for breakfasts and lunches.

Pictures of a Devon Garden by a 10 Year Old

I was just meandering through my photos when I found these photos that my son was busy snapping in our garden last weekend.  For a change, I fancy including something non-foodie this week, so here are some of them.  Perhaps not what we might expect a 10 year old boy to take photos of?

Devon's Healthier Alternative to Olive Oil: Bell & Loxton Rapeseed Oil

I tried to buy a bottle of this Bell & Loxton Rapeseed Oil a couple of weeks ago at Darts Farm, and they were out of stock, so it was just good luck that I happened to meet the growers at a Taste Buds Magazine event a few days later at Twenty Six cafe.  John and Rachel Bell, the producers, are a lovely couple and seem to be passionate about their oil.  They were kind enough to send me a sample to try out.  I warned them that I only tend to blog about things that I genuinely use and like - I'm not in the blogging business to be cynical or untruthful....they were confident enough that I would be won over.

The oil can be bought in glass or aluminium bottles.  The metal ones are rather stylish with a beautiful graphic design on the label.  The gold detail of the label really evokes the glow of the bright yellow crops in the summer.  I'm happier to keep this on the kitchen work surface than my rather boring plastic bottle of Tesco Olive Oil. And interestingly this is where the Bells are pitching their product.  This is a Devon-grown cold-pressed oil that is comparable to a good olive oil, but wait for this, with even more of the right Omega 3,6 and 9 and half the saturated fat of olive oil.

I straight away dipped some sour dough bread in to the oil.  It wasn't overly strong tasting but had a faint nuttiness and sweetness.  Although I'm a die hard butter user for toast, I tend to drizzle olive oil on sandwiches as I feel that butter is wasted in a sandwich.  So, overnight this oil has become my new 'healthy' butter.

It's also good for frying and roasting - the smoking point must be high enough as it coped really well with a delicious (modified from Jamie) tray bake of salmon and 'what ever veg I had in the fridge and freezer'.  I'm not sure if it was the natural sugars from the peas or the cooked lemon zest, but there was a definite overall light sweetness to the finished dish that we all enjoyed. Photo shows it prior to going in the oven.

It's getting to the point where we can almost stock our entire basic kitchen store cupboard with Devon produce.  I wish John and Rachel the best of luck with their top notch Devon product which certainly won me over, and I look forward to trying the new additions to the range later in the year.

Stocked locally at Shaldon Bakery, Powderham Country Store, Ullacombe Farm Shop , Devon branches of Waitrose and at least forty other locations.